East Jakarta resident Edy Haryadi has said he is willing to go to court after he found out that the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan) removed a cancer drug, trastuzumab, from its list of drugs that it covers.

Edy’s wife, Yuniarti Tanjung, was diagnosed with stage three HER2 breast cancer on May 10, after doctors found her lymph gland was swollen in December 2017.

A doctor at Persahabatan Hospital in East Jakarta prescribed her trastuzumab along with three other chemotherapy drugs on June 24.

However, Yuniarti did not receive the trastuzumab because the hospital said a policy issued on April 1 prevented BPJS Kesehatan from covering expenses for the drug.

The family would have to pay Rp 25 million (US$1,700) to obtain the medication.

“My wife will soon run out of time. Without trastuzumab, she probably only has one and a half more years to live,” Edy said as quoted by kompas.com on Wednesday.

“The trastuzumab could help extend her life by at least 10 years. There’s another HER2 breast cancer patient named Aryanti Baramuli who could live for another 15 years thanks to the trastuzumab."

Edy said his family was willing to file a lawsuit if the agency does not change its policy on trastuzumab.

“I hope my wife can live long enough to see our only child go to college, graduate and get married. That’s all,” he said. (vla)